Super Simple & Delicious Beet Gnocchi Recipe!

Few things in life get me as excited as BEETS! Roasted beets, beet soup, beet salad, and now… beet gnocchi! Beet gnocchi have been on my “cooking bucket list” for quite some time so when I finally gave these guys a whirl, I was STOKED! The results … incredible and delicious but best of all, they’re SUPER SIMPLE to make! So, tune in to your inner Italian grandma-ness and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

One bunch of beets (approx 3-4 medium to large beets)

10-15 medium to large red potatoes

2-3 cups of flour

1 egg (optional)

Salt and pepper

Extra flour for kneading and rolling dough

DIRECTIONS:

Pro tip: Most gnocchi recipes tell you to boil your potatoes but I find that boiling adds too much moisture to the potatoes. Instead, I bake my potatoes so they’re nice and tender without all the extra water!

Preheat the oven to 475

Prep Beets: (Note: DO NOT PEEL the beets. I personally HATE the process of peeling beets so this is the EASIEST, NO FUSS way to prep your beets!) Wash your beets and cut off the beet greens. No need to be exact here, feel free to leave a little bit of the root ends so you can use as much of the beet as possible, after it’s cooked! Cut your beets in half – for larger beets, quarter them. Take all the beets and wrap them up in tin foil. You’ll need a large peice or two of tin foil – make sure they’re sealed up tight.

Prep Potatoes: (Note: DO NOT PEEL) Wash your potatoes and cut them in half – for larger potatoes, quarter them. Take all the potatoes and wrap them up in tin foil. You’ll need a large peice or two of tin foil – make sure they’re sealed up tight.

Bake the beets and potatoes for 45 minutes at 475. After 45 minutes use a folk to pierce the beets and potatoes through the tin foil to make sure they are both tender. Once tender, take the beets and potatoes out of the oven and let cool (if you have room, stick them in the freeze to cool them down more quickly.

Peel: Once everything has cooled down you can peel both the beets and potatoes by using your hands! The skins should easily slide off. Optional: I’m not very careful when it comes to the potatoes because I like to keep some of the skins on – they’re packed with nutrients!

Beet puree: Place your peeled beets and 1 egg into a food processor or blender on high.

Mashed potatoes: You can choose to mash your potatoes by hand or use a food processor instead.

Combine: In a large mixing bowl combine the beet puree with the mashed potatoes, 2 cups of flour and a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste (at least 1-2 Tb of salt). Mix mix mix! If the dough is still VERY VERY VERY sticky, mix in the third cup of flour. DO NOT WORRY if the dough is still sticky!

Prep your work station: Use a clean countertop surface and cover it with a layer of flour. Also get your hands nice and flour-y. Take 2 large cookie sheets and cover them with a layer of flour. This is where you’ll place your gnocchi after you cut them.

Roll your dough: Now take a handful of your gorgeous dough and roll it out by hand in the flour. You will notice that even though the dough is sticky the flour from the countertop will allow you to roll the dough out into a long, thick tube. Add flour as needed if the dough sticks to much to your hands or the counter.

Cut the dough into half inch pieces with a butter knife and place the individual pieces on the floured cookie sheets. DO NOT STACK the gnocchi or they will stick to each other. Repeat until all of the dough is cut. Some people like to use a fork to imprint a design into the gnocchi pieces but I have to admit, that’s just not my thing.

Freeze: Once all your gnocchi is cut, place the cookie sheets into the freezer for 20 minutes to allow the gnocchi harden.

Boil a large pot of water and throw in ONLY as many gnocchi as you want to eat. You’ll know when the gnocchi are ready because they’ll float to the top. Don’t keep them floating too long or they’ll get tough. Let the rest of the gnocchi freeze completely and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Now you’ll have fresh gnocchi to eat ANYTIME!

Strain the gnocchi or take them out with a slotted spoon and serve with a sauce of your choice!

That’s it! Easy as pie but as delicious as gnocchi ;)

The easiest way to peel potatoes! Same for the beets:

Beet puree:

Mixing the dough:

Rolling out the dough:

Cut into individual gnocchi bits:

Place them on floured cookie sheet:

Once frozen, store the extra gnocchi in the freezer:

Boil the gnocchi till they float:

Nom nom nom!

Evona is a passionate foodie, entrepreneur and the founder of Undiscovered Kitchen, a digital farmer’s market for small batch, specialty foods! She loves discovering new foods from around the country and talking to the artisans who make them.